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Monday, 25 July 2011

A Taste of Summer!

I love Lavender, it just screams "summer" and I thought it was time to do a spot of baking with some I picked from my mum's garden - she has absolutely loads so I think the bees will forgive me for cutting just a small amount for my recipe, plus a bit extra for a vase too!

These biscuits are super easy to make and so I thought I'd share the recipe with you...

300g / 10oz butter

180g / 7oz caster sugar

450g / 1lb plain flour

2 egg yolks

about 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped lavender leaves

about 1 tablespoon of lavender flowers

drop of milk (if required)

You could always halve the quantity - as you can see, this makes quite a lot - depending on what size cutters you use! I couldn't resist making heart shaped biscuits!Method:Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add your lavender leaves, most of the flowers and your flour and egg yolks and mix well. Knead your mixture into a soft dough and, if necessary, add a drop of milk to get a nice smooth ball. I then popped it in the fridge for half an hour before rolling out to my desired biscuit thickness, about 1/2 cm. Cut your biscuits out using your biscuit cutters and place on a greased baking tray. You can press extra lavender flowers into the top of each biscuit if you like. Bake in the oven at 160 o centrigrade / 320F for about 15-20 mins, or until firm. Leave to cool in the trays for a few minutes to firm up before using a palette knife to remove and place on wire cooling trays.

Then settle down with a nice cuppa to enjoy a little taste of summer!The biscuits keep really well but if you make enough, why not share them with friends -they look really pretty presented in a clear cellophane bag and tied with ribbon and a parcel tag.

About Me

Halfpenny Home is open Tuesday through to Sunday 10-4 at Alder Carr Farm, Creeting St. Mary, Suffolk IP6 8LX. You can phone the shop on 01449 721123 or contact Nic on 07887511081 email - halfpennyhome@googlemail.com
Nic Gouldsmith started Halfpenny Home in an old soap factory in the small Suffolk town of Needham Market and very quickly became the place to go for hard to find crafting sundries and haberdashery supplies. After just over 4 years in the soap factory HH HQ moved to the dream location on Alder Carr Farm! The new and shiny HH HQ is now housed in an old windmill which for many years was used as a dovecote - the nest boxes are still in place and now are filled with ribbon, fabric and buttons!
With help from a few of Nic's creative friends HH HQ runs a very varied list of fun workshops where you are sure to produce something beautiful and have a lovely time...we also have rather a lot of tea and homemade cakes!
Enjoy reading about everything that happens at Halfpenny Home and there are also some rather pretty photos, please do ask for permission first before reproducing them anywhere - it's always nice to hear about where they will pop up!
Nic x